Australian Food Pact to halve food waste by 2030

The Australian Food Pact is a voluntary agreement that will bring together organisations from across the nation’s food supply chain — from farm to fork — in a collaborative effort to reach government targets to halve Australia’s food waste by 2030.

“Each year we waste around 7.6 million tonnes of food, which is why the Australian Government has set an aggressive target of halving food waste by 2030,” Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said during the launch of the pact on 21 October.

“That challenge goes right across the supply chain — from the grower to the home; the Australian Food Pact is the first time we will have the major players in the same room working towards that goal.

“With food waste costing the economy roughly $36 billion a year, we need collaboration between business and government without the threat of regulation.

“Australian Food Pact creates that space for businesses to come together, to work through their food waste issues and to collaborate up and down the supply chain.”

Supported by $4 million in Morrison government funding, organisation Stop Food Waste Australia will drive the policies and collaboration between businesses that sign up to the Australian Food Pact.

The Australian Food Pact will bring together organisations from across the Australian food industry, covering primary production, processing, manufacturing as well as wholesale, retail, hospitality, institutions and households. The inaugural signatories are:

• Simplot Australia
• Woolworths Group
• Coles
• Mars Australia
• Mondelēz Australia
• Goodman Fielder
• ARECO Pacific
• McCain Foods

Stop Food Waste Australia will work with signatories on initiatives that may include sustainable product design and sourcing, supply chain optimisation, projects to influence business and consumer behaviours and increasing opportunities for food rescue and donation.

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) welcomes the launch of the pact and congratulates the manufacturers and retailers who have joined as inaugural signatories in this important step towards halving food waste in Australia by 2030.

“The Australian Food Pact represents a whole-of-supply-chain determination to reduce food waste and in the process make the nation’s food production and retail systems even more innovative and sustainable,” AFGC CEO Tanya Barden said. The AFGC is a supporting partner in Stop Food Waste Australia.

Stop Food Waste Australia CEO Dr Steven Lapidge said: “We’ve been heartened by the response of the Australian food industry to joining the Australian Food Pact, which will see signatories tackle waste, improve profitability, respond to supply risks, provide innovative solutions, be more competitive and provide quality products with lower environmental impacts.”

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